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Card Players

Artist
Charles White, American, 1918–1979
Date
1939
Material
Oil on canvas
Classification
Paintings
Current Location
On View, Gallery 333
Dimensions
30 × 36 in. (76.2 × 91.4 cm)
framed: 37 1/2 × 43 9/16 × 2 1/4 in. (95.3 × 110.6 × 5.7 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of the Federal Works Agency, Work Projects Administration
Rights
Contact Us
Object Number
364:1943
NOTES
Four gamblers fill the canvas of Card Players. The group occupies a cramped room lit by a single lamp, elevating the feeling of suspense as one of the men prepares to play his cards. Artist Charles White was involved with the active community of African American artists in Chicago in the 1930s and 1940s. Their influence led him to create artwork that celebrates both the everyday lives and the history of African Americans.
- 1943
Federal Works Agency, Works Projects Administration, Chicago, IL, USA

1943 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, given by the Federal Works Agency, Works Projects Administration [1]


Notes:
[1] In 1943, the Works Projects Administration was terminated, and works made under the project between 1935 and 1943 were distributed to public institutions throughout the United States. The Chicago branch of the WPA allocated a number of works to the Saint Louis Art Museum [receipt for allocation of works of art from the Federal Works Agency, Works Projects Administration, dated April 12, 1943, SLAM document files].